The phenomenon where learned behaviors gradually revert to an organism’s innate, instinctual patterns is a notable concept within the study of learning. This tendency occurs even when the learned behaviors have been successfully conditioned through reinforcement. For instance, an animal trained to perform a specific action for a reward may, over time, begin to exhibit behaviors more closely aligned with its natural instincts, interfering with the previously established conditioned response. Consider pigs trained to deposit tokens in a piggy bank; they might start rooting at the tokens instead, an innate foraging behavior.
Understanding this reversion to instinct is important for several reasons. It highlights the limitations of operant conditioning and the powerful influence of biological predispositions on behavior. It underscores the fact that organisms are not blank slates, but come equipped with pre-programmed responses that can compete with learned behaviors. Historically, this concept emerged from attempts to train animals for entertainment purposes, revealing unexpected challenges in maintaining specific learned routines over extended periods.
